


wavelength

by brights (orphan_account)



Category: Borderlands
Genre: M/M, Slow To Update, trans!Rhys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-04
Packaged: 2018-07-11 17:08:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7061878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/brights
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rhys and Jack are certainly a sight, or they would be, if anyone else could actually see Jack.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. still

**Author's Note:**

> * a collection of one shots that i've written about holo!jack and rhys.  
> * some of these are little prequel side stories to ["kiss your fears"](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7062100/chapters/16054039) and others are just one shots.  
> * rating and tags are going to be updated in the future.

“Ah, ah, babe,” the voice is loud, booming, but soft at the same time, and the hologram is right there, watching him, and Rhys feels humiliated, his eyes squeezing shut as his human hand, which is now being controlled by Jack, is ghosting the tips of his fingers along his body. And Rhys pleads and pleads with him, telling him that he’s not comfortable with it, telling him that he doesn’t want him to touch him. Jack listens, not intruding on any ‘private areas’, but it doesn’t stop him from using his fingers to play at the soft flesh of his stomach.

 

The hologram smiles at Rhys, a chuckle falling from his lips, “Ah, hey, buddy, don’t be like that, I wouldn’t do that to ya.”

 

Rhys is flushed, his face is burning, and his mouth opens, but nothing comes out, because he’s still in awe about Jack being with him, figuratively _inside_ him, and the thought that they could work together, and he still worships the ground that he walks on. Jack looks at him again, and this time, it’s more of a look of concern, if Rhys was reading it correctly. “Sorry,” Rhys whispers, and it’s because the others can’t know, they can’t hear him talking to Jack. “I’m just really sensitive, okay?”

 

And Jack seems to understand, “Yeah, yeah, you scrawny types and your _issues_ , right?” He’s poking fun at him, and Rhys feels it, because his cheeks are heating up again. He wants to explain to him that it’s not about that, it’s not because of anything he’s thinking, and Jack must notice him getting upset about it, because he shushes Rhys with a soft hum, and Rhys listens. “Whoa, _hey_ , I didn’t know, calm down, would you?”

 

“Wha-” and before Rhys can ask him what he’s talking about, Jack gives his shirt a tug upward, and he moves the fingers along his ribs, and Rhys practically melts in his hands. Jack’s holographic form is right above him, and he’s smiling at Rhys, and Rhys wants nothing less than something _physical_ from Jack for a change, but it’s so hard, and the stimulation just from Jack’s fingers on his stomach is just enough to throw him into a sort of ecstasy. Rhys is like putty in his hands before long, and Jack almost wishes that he could _touch_ him.

 

Rhys is looking at him with wide eyes, and Jack isn’t doing much to hide the expression on his face when Rhys tells him that one day they’ll be able to, as if there’s going to be a time when he can have his physical body again. Jack smirks at this, and he promises Rhys that he won’t regret sticking by him, because he’s gonna be sure to make him feel more than anyone else.

 

And Rhys smiles at the promise, because Jack is his hero, and he trusts him.

 

And then, with Jack retreating from controlling Rhys’s hand, the younger male sighs, and the thoughts hit him, what it would be like. It’s weird, too, because usually, Jack is just gone without a word, but he’s still there, watching him, hovering over him, and he looks like he’s expecting _something_. Just what that something is, he’s not sure of. And then Jack seems to move into a sitting position on the small pull-out bed in the makeshift room that Rhys has to himself these days, and Rhys immediately misses Helios again.

 

“So, normally, I wouldn’t give a shit, but I have to ask you, since I’m _inside_ you and all,” the hologram says, eyeing Rhys as he sits up next to him, “what the hell makes you different than anyone else?”

 

Rhys thinks for a moment, and he knows that it’s not a job interview, so he’s not supposed to _‘sell himself’_ , for lack of a better term, and he tells Jack something that he was pretty sure that only Vaughn knew. “I’m lactose intolerant.”

 

Jack stares at him, a look of bewilderment on his face. And then the laughter comes, because that’s the strangest answer that he’s ever heard, and he decides that he’s going to keep Rhys around for a lot longer than he originally thought. “L-Lactose intol- _ahahaha_!” He calms down after a long moment, and he looks at Rhys and reaches an hand out to his shoulder - and misses, just like every previous time - and gives him a nod of approval. “I’m gonna keep you, baby. All the way to the top, Rhysie.”

 

The name hits Rhys, and it sticks. He’s Rhys to everyone else, but to Jack? He’s _Rhysie_. No one had ever called him that before, and it was weird, but Rhys felt a strange sensation of butterflies in his stomach. And how long had Jack been calling him that name? He couldn’t really remember, but for some reason, he felt content with it. Jack looks at him again, and he laughs, probably about the lactose intolerant thing, and shoots his finger guns at him before disappearing.

 

Rhys smiles and lays down, finally closing his eyes to go to sleep, his fingers subconsciously tracing along the path that Jack had been making.

 

 

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

He couldn’t be happier that they’d found a hotel, even if it was run down, it gave them all plenty of space, and it’s more than enough to help Rhys relax and finally soak his muscles. Rhys knows that it’s late, because that’s the time when Jack is most active, and he’s halfway surprised that he even gets privacy in the bathroom, but Jack has been pretty respectful of Rhys’s decision not to let him see his body yet since they had had their talk a few weeks back, and he’s thankful. It wasn’t so much a matter of him being ashamed, it was about his fear of the older man’s reaction. Even if he was just an AI, he was still a person, deep down, and he obviously had opinions, and at this point, Rhys just hopes that those opinions side with him. He can’t think of anything else, and he wants to, but he’s just...

 

“Hey, cupcake, you’re really takin’ a while, you alright?”

 

He’s cut off from his thoughts by the hologram himself speaking to him from outside the door, Rhys knows that Jack knows that he can’t answer him, because then the others will know that he’s there, or at least, Rhys is paranoid enough about it to believe that, walls are thin, you know. And sometimes, he thinks that Jack just does it to pick on him, and he’s probably right. It’s past midnight, and Rhys knows that he should be in bed asleep, but he just can’t stop thinking about everything, and about how Jack will eventually have his old body back again. He’s snapped out of his thoughts when he hears Jack from the other side of the door again, telling him to come on, because he’s bored. When Jack could do anything else to entertain himself, he wanted Rhys to come out. The younger man sighs, and he gets out of the bathtub and begins to dry his body off, and the hologram on the other side of the door is growing impatient, so Rhys whispers, knowing that the walls will make his voice echo, “I’m on the way, hang on.” And Jack practically giggles at him in delight, and Rhys could do without the mental image of that, thank you.

 

Once he’s fully clothed, he steps out of the bathroom and walks to the bed, and Jack follows him. The bed is a pretty good size, much better than the makeshift bed that he had made when they were still all crammed in the caravan. “Wow, buddy, I thought you died in there.”

 

“You wouldn’t be here if I was dead,” Rhys says, curling up on the bed. Jack frowns at him and shakes his head as he lays down next to Rhys, well, the best that he can, anyway. He’s just looking at him, and Rhys wishes that Jack was able to physically touch him, wishes that he had some way to be able to touch him, and Jack chuckles a bit before he speaks.

 

“You wanna kiss me, I know,” and his tone is playful, but that’s not such a bad idea, Rhys decides, and he wishes that he  _ could  _ kiss Jack. He wishes that he could have Jack’s arms around him. He wishes too much, he thinks, and Jack tilts his head, raising a brow at Rhys. “You sure aren’t talkative tonight.” The younger man begins to pull the sheets up around him, and the coolness that they brought to his body was well appreciated after the warm bath that he had taken. Jack almost looks worried, and he knows that that’s not really the case. Jack’s just bored and looking for some entertainment.

 

“A lot on my mind,” Rhys mumbles, and and he turns over, facing away from Jack, and he tries his hardest to push the thoughts back to keep himself from crying, because he’s never felt a want this strong in his entire life. He’s never wanted to touch or be touched so badly, and it’s driving him wild. And Jack chants his name, trying to get his attention, but Rhys is trying to ignore him, because the more Jack speaks, the more he draws his name out, the more Rhys just wants to be able to actually kiss him. He closes his eyes tight, and he’s trying not to imagine it, but it’s just so hard when Jack is right  _ there _ , but he can’t even touch him.

 

“Okay, fine,” Jack says, voice low, “I’ll just talk, because I have great things to talk about, and generally, there are two people that make up conversations, but since you’re stuck in Rhysland, I’ll just pretend you’re talkin’ to me.”

 

And Jack starts rambling on and on, and it’s actually quite soothing, though Rhys wouldn’t tell Jack that. He wishes that he could listen to him talk while he was actually able to lay on his chest, or lay next to him, or anything, really. Rhys is fantasizing in his mind, and eventually, he fades back in on whatever ‘conversation’ Jack is having with himself.

 

“And that’s how I knew that I was a fucking master at making sandwiches, yes, that’s right, your hero, Handsome goddamn Jack, knows how to make a sandwich.” And Rhys snorts, and he’s laughing uncontrollably at the thought of Jack being a professional sandwich maker. It didn’t suit him at all. “Ah, so now you’re listening to me, huh? Well go ahead and laugh, because you obviously need it.”

 

That’s probably the nicest thing that Jack has ever said to him. And the older man starts laughing along with Rhys, and he starts telling him another funny story, and then another, and Rhys listens and laughs more and more, and he’s not even worried about what the others will say to him in the morning if they can hear his laughter through the walls. Eventually, Rhys starts to become sleepy, and the older man’s tone is much quieter, much lower, and he’s still talking to him. He’s whispering to him, telling him about how life’s going to be for him once he’s got his physical body back, and Rhys nods, listening to every word, because  _ oh god _ , he wants for Jack to touch him, to hold him, to kiss him. And as Rhys starts to think about it in-depth more and more, Jack whispers to him, hovering just above him, “Nighty night, Rhysie.”

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

Nights like this, where Rhys looks like he’s absolutely freezing, and he’s clinging to the blankets around him, Jack wishes that he wasn’t a hologram. Not for the fact that he could finally be able to touch Rhys without controlling his cybernetics, but because of the fact that Rhys would be able to get some comfort from him actually, physically being there. Right now, he’s just watching as Rhys, who’s obviously having trouble falling asleep, actually begins to  _ shiver _ , and Jack would laugh if he didn’t know much it sucked to practically freeze, but he speaks, and Rhys jumps at the sound of his voice. “Cold, buddy?” Jack asks, appearing right in front of Rhys in his signature laying down pose, if that’s what he could call it. Rhys didn’t have to know that he was already thinking of ways to warm him up from the inside out, didn’t have to know that his mind was working quickly, that he could change some of the coding in his cybernetics and could make him warm up just long enough for him to sleep.

 

_ Bingo _ .

 

And Jack completely misses when Rhys finally responds, telling him that he’s super cold, and that he might get sick. He misses it, because he’s rewriting some of the coding that went into the manufacturing of Rhys’s port, and Rhys can feel it, and it’s an uncomfortable feeling like no other, and he’s grabbing at his head, and though it doesn’t hurt, he’s almost crying from the strange sensation of Jack poking around in his brain. Jack moves a bit more, and Rhys can see the concentration on his face, and then, suddenly, nothing is uncomfortable, and actually, he’s very comfortable, and  _ warm _ . Rhys looks at Jack, his mouth hanging open, because he had no clue that that was even something that could be done.

 

“Hey, sweetheart, might not wanna keep your mouth open like that,” Jack says quietly, almost  _ seductively _ , “might make me wanna put my cock in there.” And Rhys closes his mouth, only to open it again and praise Jack and tell him how amazing that was, and Jack laughs and tells him that he’ll do anything for him, and that he’d better go to sleep soon, because it’d be back to normal in an hour, and Rhys listens, and before long, he’s sound asleep and drooling on his pillow.

 

Jack watches the steady rise and fall of Rhys’s chest, and he mimicks it with his own, watching as they move in sync. He wonders how people subconsciously do that, anyway. Most people would forget to breathe if they had to remember to do that themselves. He shrugged it off and found his eyes locked onto Rhys’s surprisingly long eyelashes, watching him closely, and eventually, he stopped. He looks so peaceful in his sleep, and Jack absolutely wants to ruin him one day. And that’s what Jack thinks on for the rest of the time he stays awake. He’s going to get himself a physical body, because he just  _ knows  _ that the nerds in R&D are going to have something for him. He practically  _ demanded  _ it a little less than a year ago, and so it should be done by now.

 

And he wonders if Rhys will bolt after that happens, or if he’ll stick around. He certainly hopes that he’ll stick around, because Jack’s got  _ plans  _ for him, and he doesn’t plan on letting Rhys go.


End file.
